10 Plants that Help Bees through the Winter
Four Season Garden
You can help bees through the winter by growing plants and flowering trees that bloom during the colder seasons. (Article and plant guide continue below slideshow.)
Because bees are still active in colder months, they need winter-blooming flowers that provide pollen and nectar. Honey bees forage on dry days in winter when temperatures reach 13ºC (55ºF) or more. Native bees, most of which are solitary nesters, need warmer weather to begin pollinating, and typically do not emerge until spring. In cities, however, where many warm spaces and gardens with cold-weather flowering plants provide protection and food, sightings of bumblebees in winter and very early spring are becoming more common.
By cultivating a variety of plants that flower successively throughout the fall, winter and spring, you can help feed the bees during the coldest months when few blooms are available. Borders and clusters of flowers attract more pollinators than solitary flowers dispersed throughout the garden. For annuals and perennials, cut back the flowers after their first bloom for continued blossoms.
The guide below shows the approximate bloom dates for cold-hardy plants that help bees through the winter in southern maritime British Columbia.
Cold-Hardy Flowers that Attract Bees in Winter in South Coast BC
| Plant | Plant Type | Approximate Bloom Dates |
| Cornflower | hardy annual | May – November |
| Calendula | hardy annual | Spring – November, Year-round if no hard frost |
| Borage | hardy annual herb | June – November |
| Yarrow | hardy perennial herb | April – November, Year-round if no hard frost |
| Rosemary | evergreen perennial herb | Varies, often blooms March / April, November / December |
| Primrose | hardy perennial | Midwinter – Spring, October / November |
| Heather | low-growing evergreen shrub | Typically November, once established may bloom September – May |
| Oregon Grape (Mahonia) | evergreen native shrub | November – March |
| Crocus, Snowdrop, Hyacinth | perennial bulb | January – March |
| Early Blooming Fruit Trees (Cherry, Apple, Plum, etc.) | deciduous tree | Starting in February |
Bees pollinate nearly three-quarters of the fruits, vegetables nuts and herbs we eat. In fact, we depend on bees for our survival! So let’s help feed the bees by growing successive blooms that provide pollen and nectar throughout the winter.
More articles:
Plants That Attract Beneficial Insects
Deer Resistant Plants That Attract Pollinators
Plant a Bee Attracting Garden
Where Have All the Bees Gone? Clues to the Disappearance of a Vital Pollinator
10 Tips for Year-Round Vegetable Gardens
Grow a Climate Change Resilient Garden
Attention:
Cornflower
This article accidentally recommended planting an invasive species.
https://bcinvasives.ca/invasives/bachelors-button/
Thanks for the important reminder. Although cornflower is invasive—especially near fields and meadows—in a city setting it is a useful, late blooming attractant for bees. For this reason we recommend growing it only in pots or confined spaces.
I spent a while figuring out host and nectar plants for pollinators and the native species of them in northwest bc. Figuring out the successive blooms for butterflies and the bees until winter. I hit a wall running out of blooming flowers in October. Thank you for the post I know I can plant calendula and bachleor button for some food on the colder months.
I have my hives on a quiet mountain in the Shenandoah Valley, I have 12+acres for the bees, I plant many different flowers for the girls, but have found perennials are the way to go. Also I have heard that herbs can help with beatles and other pests that give the bees problems, so I have herbs close to the hives.Whatever works, I am treatment free .This winter I will work on keeping the Bear out they are my biggest problem.